Wednesday, 5/21/97 Bruins begin walk down fairway No. 9 UCLA
heads for Columbus to battle nation’s best teams in NCAA
Championships
By Chris Umpierre Daily Bruin Contributor Four shots. That’s
what separated the UCLA women’s golf team from a national
championship last year. Beginning today and continuing through
Saturday, the Bruins will be looking for some redemption as
ninth-ranked UCLA travels to Columbus, Ohio along with 17 other
teams to take part in the national championships. After a marvelous
season last year, which included a school record of four
consecutive tournament victories, the top-ranked Bruins came four
shots from garnering their second national championship in school
history. All but two players, All-Americans Kathy Choi and Jenny
Park, returned to this year’s squad with the memory of the 1996
championships haunting them. Although this season wasn’t as
outstanding as last year, the 1997 Bruins have been consistent
throughout the year, and with last year’s performance still
weighing on their minds, the Bruins could be inspired to a top
finish. But UCLA’s hopes for getting some redemption in the 1997
NCAA Championships were almost cut short when they faltered in the
West Regional two weekends ago, garnering ninth place. The
performance barely qualified the team for championship play, as
only the top 11 teams qualified. It was not the kind of performance
the team was looking for going into the biggest golf tournament of
the year. The performance was uncharacteristic for the squad, as
the Bruins have posted seven top-three performances out of their 11
tournaments thus far this season. The Bruins will now have to
rebound from their regional performance amidst an array of top
teams in this weekend’s national championships. "I think we will do
pretty well," senior Eunice Choi said. "The thing is this year the
teams are so competitive, so it’s going to be tough but we are up
there. We totally have a chance to win because we have some great
players on this team." Competitive indeed, as the championships
will truly be a representation of the best teams in the country. Of
the top 20 teams in the nation, according to the Rolex rankings, 16
of these teams qualified for the championships in Ohio. UCLA’s
biggest competition comes from the Arizona schools. Arizona and
Arizona State, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, are the favored
schools to win the tournament. Arizona features the top player in
the country, sophomore Marisa Baena. Ever since Baena entered the
college golf scene as a freshman last year, she has held the
nation’s top ranking, and has been a major factor in the Wildcats’
successful season to date. The Sun Devils are currently playing
their best golf of the season; they are coming off two straight
victories (in the Pacific 10 Championships and the West Regionals)
and could be ripe for another victory in the championships. But the
Bruins will have history on their side. Six years to this date on
the same golf course, the UCLA women’s golf team won the national
championship, the first for the program. In 1991, at the same Ohio
State University Scarlet Course the Bruins will play on this year,
a Bruin team led by LaRee Sugg captured the crown. But there are
some stark differences between the 1991 team and this year’s squad.
The 1991 team was ranked No. 1 in the country entering the
championships while this year’s squad is ranked No. 9. The 1991
team also had won five tournaments before their championship
victory whereas this team hasn’t won a tournament all year long.
Nevertheless, head coach Jackie Steinmann will use the 1991
performance to inspire the squad if the team needs any inspiration
after last year’s performance. UCLA Sports Info UCLA’s No. 2 player
Amandine Vincent hopes to contribute at the NCAA Championships,
starting today. Previous Daily Bruin stories: Bruins must master
their inconstancy May 15, 1997